Creating with Cozy, Part 2: The CAD

Great design is not only helpful and functional, it is elegant. We spent a lot of time designing PocketDock to be both sleek and sturdy. A lot of this planning came in the CAD stage of designing.

Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of a computer to create and optimize a design. It’s used to create 3D designs with the precise measurements and geometry of a finished product. These designs can then be used for manufacturing.

We used Autodesk Fusion 360 to create our CAD for PocketDock. It helped us turn our drawings into a 3D model to see how we could realistically create a final product. This stage was especially important in designing the dock to fit seamlessly with Apple’s USB charger. Using the rendering mode we could get an idea of what product would look like in various materials and with lighting.

PocketDock was finally brought to life with Fusion 360’s 3D printing utility. It worked seamlessly with our printer to create the first prototypes so we could revise our design through trial and error.